I just wanted to share a great experience I had with a letting agency in case anybody is interested (as I received a few queries by message).
Given there are a lot (LOT!) of time wasting sales man in this business and a lot of horror stories, hopefully you can find this quite useful.
The agency is Get-Let.ie. I've dealt with Gavin, one of the owners (and landlord as well). An incredibly nice guy - he came to Allendale, explained us all the process, the fees (lower than market average, and well worth if you don't want the hassle to deal with minor things / taxes / etc...) and the process in a very clear way.
He is a "I recommend you to do this, but then it's your choice" kind of guy. After we signed the contract, he took the picture of the house, posted them on Daft and within 3 days we had 4 viewings in an evening. All filtered by dozens of application he received using a number of criteria he proved to be successful in his experience. The day after he had 3 offers, 1 of those was actually from a very nice Irish couple - what you could define "perfect tenants". Both with great stable jobs and income. The day after, deposit and contract signed. Everything sorted in less than a week.
He is managing more than 300 properties, has discounted contractors to deal with any sort of minor problem, but most of all has been recommended to me by 2 friends that use it from years, with them (landlord) and their tenants both very happy.
So far, I'm really happy with how things went. I'll then keep you guys posted on the long term experience review :). read more